Thomson continues to deal with Rita's effects

Posted: Sunday, September 25, 2005

ATLANTA - He'd just won his first game since the first week in May, only to find out afterward that his hometown might be in worse shape, as a result of Hurricane Rita, than he believed when he took the mound.

Atlanta's John Thomson talked with his wife and family Saturday afternoon, and they assured him everyone had evacuated and was safe from the storm.

His dad went so far as to tell him that their west Louisiana town of Sulphur had been spared, for the most part, and that he was sure their homes were intact.

After Thomson allowed a run in seven innings to help beat Florida, his dad confessed he'd sugarcoated the reality of things. He actually thought Sulphur (pop. 21,445) had suffered more damage than he'd led on.

"He said I had enough to worry about with the game," Thomson said Sunday morning. "He didn't want to really tell me about something you can't do anything about anyway."

There's still an air of mystery about it all, however. The reports Roy Thomson was delivering to his son were secondhand. No one knows for sure how bad off the family's property is.

Roy and Glenn, John's brother, were going to attempt to return to the damaged area today to survey the damage, but there was no guarantee that law enforcement would allow them access.

"I'm just curious. I'm kind of in the dark," said Thomson, who's been glued to his cellphone and news broadcasts the past few days. "I don't know what's wrong, what kind of damage has happened. All you can tell is what you see on TV, and they just show one street."

Thomson seriously considered asking manager Bobby Cox if he could take a couple of days this week to travel home, inspect everything and help with some of the cleanup effort.

Recognizing his team is headed toward the postseason, though, he thought better of it before bringing it up with Cox. Thomson is still perceivably in competition for a spot on the postseason rotation, and the Braves have a club option in the off-season if they'd like to keep him.

For now, being in Atlanta has its own level of importance.

"You can't do anything," he said. "All you can do is look and that'll just get in your head more, probably."

Thomson shook his head when considering how rocked his homestate has been in the past month by hurricanes. Katrina ripped through the eastern part of the state, most notably New Orleans, a few weeks back.

Thomson and his family worked to donate clothing and supplies to the displaced residents of New Orleans, especially those that had been transported to the nearby city of Lake Charles.

However, before they were able to take a blink it seemed as if their own chunk of the state was under siege.